Only in Ashland

When I first began to practice the art of column-writing in the Ashland Times-Gazette ten years ago, one of my first columns took up the rallying call: “Only in Ashland.” As I wrote in that early column, I recognized two opposing meanings to the phrase. Either it was a “man, this is such a weird community and stuff like this can only happen here” or “Ashland is such a special place that things this wonderful could only happen here.”

In column A (weird stuff), I wrote about the throngs of people in attendance at a frigid Christmas parade. Ashland sure does love a parade, even one that, at least in my early Ashland days, was mostly John Deere tractors and eighteen-wheelers. The police logs were also good for material, such as the cow parked in the middle of the road, a man arrested for stealing a $1.59 drink at a fast food restaurant, or a screamer at a local apartment who was just warming up for her vocal lesson. Only in Ashland.

In Column B, the special place side, I’ve recognized community-wide efforts such as the consecutive United Way successes, the community response when Archway was closed and then reopened, and of course, the development of the Kroc Center. I’ve also drawn attention to the kindness of individuals, symbolized best by the bank employee who met me at my car with an umbrella in the middle of a downpour. Yep, only in Ashland.

This week has given me pause to add two more examples to the “stuff like this can only happen in Ashland” list. Both are situations that fall outside the boundaries of ordinary, falling on the bizarre/tragic scale rather than the “how weird is that” measuring stick. The first is the upcoming trial of Shawn Grate, who will be judged by a jury of community residents as to his role in the kidnapping and death of women in Ashland. If this case does go to trial in April as scheduled, we may get a glimpse into how a man came to town, befriended young, vulnerable women, hid them not far from the center of town, and took their lives. How did this happen here, right under our noses?

The second is the shooting that took place in Hayesville, involving an eight-year-old shooter and a four-year-old victim. The emerging details are heart-breaking, meeting the definition of bizarre: “very strange or unusual, especially so as to cause interest or amusement.” If social media posts are a good indicator, there may be interest here, but no amusement to this story, with reactions running the gamut from astonishment to rage. At least one post expressed a similar thought to mine: “it’s Ashland, lol.” I’m not laughing out loud.

On a brighter note, Ashland is riding a wave of smiles in Kates Gymnasium these days. Have you seen the Ashland University women’s basketball team in action? They are undefeated this year, and the GLIAC tournament brought them to consecutive win #68. Drawing national attention, I like what coach Robyn Fralick told Sports Illustrated, “Our goal is to win a national championship, but the pressure is peripheral. If we’re working hard and taking care of each other, that’s where the good stuff is.”  

Are win streaks and tragedies limited to Ashland? Of course not. There’s no magical “special” spell cast over Ashland, Ohio, just as there’s no curse hanging over the community. People are people. We can’t fully control whether we end up on list A on any given day, either as a community or as an individual. But we can pay attention to what’s going on around us, even if it means an unwarranted police visit to a screeching soprano. Ask any police officer you know – they would much rather apologize for disturbing a vocal warm-up than to walk into a house of death like 363 Covert Court ever again.

On the other side of the ledger, we do have the ability to expand column B. Never underestimate the value of a shared umbrella. As Coach Fralick understands, if we work hard and take care of each other, “that’s where the good stuff is,” right here in Ashland, Ohio.